Abstract: In this paper we present the use of Sparse Radial Sampling Local Binary Patterns, a variant of Local Binary Patterns (LBP) for text-as-texture classification. By adapting and extending the standard LBP operator to the particularities of text we get a generic text-as-texture classification scheme and apply it to writer identification. In experiments on CVL and ICDAR 2013 datasets, the proposed feature-set demonstrates State-Of-the-Art (SOA) performance. Among the SOA, the proposed method is the only one that is based on dense extraction of a single local feature descriptor. This makes it fast and applicable at the earliest stages in a DIA pipeline without the need for segmentation, binarization, or extraction of multiple features.

Abstract: Translating conceptual knowledge into real world experiences presents a significant educational challenge. This position paper presents an approach that supports learners in moving seamlessly between conceptual learning and their application in the real world by bringing physical and virtual experiments into everyday settings. Learners are empowered in conducting these situated experiments in a variety of physical settings by leveraging state of the art mobile, augmented reality, and virtual reality technology. A blend of mobile-based multi-sensory physical experiments, augmented reality and enabling virtual environments can allow learners to bridge their conceptual learning with tangible experiences in a completely novel manner. This approach focuses on the learner by applying self-regulated personalised learning techniques, underpinned by innovative pedagogical approaches and adaptation techniques, to ensure that the needs and preferences of each learner are catered for individually.

Abstract: In this paper we propose a segmentation-free query by string word spotting method. Both the documents and query strings are encoded using a recently proposed word representa- tion that projects images and strings into a common atribute space based on a pyramidal histogram of characters(PHOC). These attribute models are learned using linear SVMs over the Fisher Vector representation of the images along with the PHOC labels of the corresponding strings. In order to search through the whole page, document regions are indexed per character bi- gram using a similar attribute representation. On top of that, we propose an integral image representation of the document using a simplified version of the attribute model for efficient computation. Finally we introduce a re-ranking step in order to boost retrieval performance. We show state-of-the-art results for segmentation-free query by string word spotting in single-writer and multi-writer standard datasets

Abstract: Nowadays, document forgery is becoming a real issue. A large amount of documents that contain critical information as payment slips, invoices or contracts, are constantly subject to fraudster manipulation because of the lack of security regarding this kind of document. Previously, a system to detect fraudulent documents based on its intrinsic features has been presented. It was especially designed to retrieve copy-move forgery and imperfection due to fraudster manipulation. However, when a set of characters is not present in the original document, copy-move forgery is not feasible. Hence, the fraudster will use a text toolbox to add or modify information in the document by imitating the font or he will cut and paste characters from another document where the font properties are similar. This often results in font type errors. Thus, a clue to detect document forgery consists of finding characters, words or sentences in a document with font properties different from their surroundings. To this end, we present in this paper an automatic forgery detection method based on document font features. Using the Conditional Random Field a measurement of probability that a character belongs to a specific font is made by comparing the character font features to a knowledge database. Then, the character is classified as a genuine or a fake one by comparing its probability to belong to a certain font type with those of the neighboring characters.